Governor Quinn: Don't Let Big Plastic Bully Me!

My name is Abby Goldberg, and as a 13-year-old girl who, after seeing the devastation that millions of plastic bags have caused the environment and ocean life, I made my school project this year to be getting a local ban on single-use plastic shopping bags in my home town Grayslake, IL.

My friends and I were making great progress, until the oil and chemical industry pulled a dirty trick to kill my campaign; these lobbyists used the politicians that they bought to pass a bill that would make it illegal for towns across Illinois to create plastic bag bans! Even worse, they’re trying to make it look like a green environmental bill, by putting in a few ridiculously-low requirements for so-called “recycling” of plastic bags, and are bragging they’re going to make it "a model bill for all states!”

Now it’s in the hands of our Governor to stop them with a veto, but he needs to hear from all of us!

I am heartbroken and so angry, because kids and adults like me are standing up to Big Oil and Big Plastic by creating bans everywhere, including in Los Angeles, Hawaii, Seattle, Toronto, Austin, Mexico City, Mumbai, Italy, Rwanda and more! Why? Because bag bans can be literally 2000% more effective than “bring your own bag” campaigns!

I am not scared – even though I’m just a kid, I care too much about animals, our environment, and our future natural resources to let them beat down my town, just so they can make an extra buck. Now I need your help to stop them, and give hope to other people around the world that they can stand up for their own rights!

The governor could sign at any minute, so we need your voice as soon as possible, or my dream of getting a healthier environment for my town, our environment and our world will be totally crushed.

Chemical Industry Council of Illinois-funded Senator John MillnerBill Sponsor also funded by ExxonMobil

Illinois Governor

I urge you not to let plastic-industry corporations use government to eliminate the right of citizens to determine their own local policies.

I stand with 12-year-old Illinois resident Abby Goldberg in asking you to veto a dangerous bill before you that would prevent communities across the entire state of Illinois from taking action to care for their local environments. The so-called "Plastic Bag and Film Recycling Act," while noble in name, is actually a plastic-bag-lobby bill designed to strip communities of the right to find alternatives to single-use plastic bags.

Abby is working hard in her community to try and pass a plastic bag ban -- a measure we know is extremely effective in curbing the pollution caused by rampant plastic bag use. Plastic bags litter our farm lands, hang from our trees, choke up our waterways, hurt our wildlife, and their production wastes oil and natural gas that we need to help us bridge to a renewable-energy economy. That's why communities all around the country -- from Seattle to Austin to Los Angeles, and even the entire state of Hawaii – have successfully banned the distribution of plastic bags.

But the legislation before you would rob Illinois communities of the right to do the same, including Grayslake, Illinois, Abby's hometown, where she's worked extremely hard to get a local bag-ban.

Gov. Quinn, I urge you not to cave in to Big Oil and the plastics industry, and instead stand with Abby Goldberg and thousands of others by vetoing this dangerous bill. Local communities should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to ban plastic bags. Passing this bill would set an extremely harmful precedent that could very well have national implications – an industry spokesman claims they are trying to make this “a model bill for all states.”

Don't allow Illinois to undo the work of Abby and concerned citizens around the country, who want to take care of and preserve their environment. Please veto the "Plastic Bag and Film Recycling Act," IL SB3442.

As Abby Goldberg says, this bill is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and will only serve to harm communities across the state.